The anti-Oslo camp gained important points last week with U.S. President George Bush's appointment of Elliott Abrams as his Middle East policy coordinator. Abrams, who will serve in the top Middle East policy spot in the National Security Council (NSC), was known for his objections to Barak's concessions in Camp David, as well as for his stance in favor of transferring the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He has called on Washington to "stand by Israel," rather than act as a neutral mediator between Israel and the Palestinians.

In his book "Present Dangers," published two years ago, Abrams outlined a then-new U.S. Mideast policy that called for "regime change" in Iraq and for cracking down on the Palestinian Authority. Somewhat prophetically, he recommended that in the Middle East "our military strength and willingness to use it" should be the "key factor in our ability to promote peace." He has written on the threats posed by U.S. Christian society to Jewish identity, calling upon American Jews to maintain their religious-national identity, to resist intermarriage, and to enhance Jewish education even at the price of distancing themselves from the larger American society. Arutz-7 - 16 Dec 2002